10 things in tech you need to know today, August 7

FCC Chairman Ajit
Pai.
YouTube

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this
Tuesday.

1.
Tech giants banned conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from their
platforms, but his InfoWars app is still available through
Apple’s App Store. Apple banned InfoWars from its
podcast service, but the App Store doesn’t have the same
guidelines around hate themes.

2. Google
is rolling out the latest version of the Android operating system
to Pixel and Essential Phone users. But Android 9.0
only includes a few features at launch, with the rest coming in
the fall.

3.
Twitter said Alex Jones and InfoWars don’t violate their hate
speech policy, and their accounts remain active on the platform
for now, according to CNBC. The company said it will
take action if it needs to.

4.
Facebook has reportedly been in talks with banks about accessing
users’ financial data and integrating it into its
platform. The report has sparked immediate
outrage from critics and privacy activists, who fear the Silicon
Valley tech firm is attempting to gobble up ever-more
information.

5.
MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider the mission of the
company now is to focus on the “occasional
moviegoer.” That’s after the troubled cinema
subscription firm introduced a bunch of changes, including
capping the number of films people can see per month.

6.
YouTube managers have spoken to San Bruno city officials about
beefing up office security at headquarters, a city development
director told Business Insider. That’s after a
shooting on April 3 that injured three people.

7.
Uber is facing a a $650 million class-action lawsuit from London
black cab drivers. Thirteen trade unions and
London cabbie representatives are coming together to pursue High
Court action against Uber for loss of earnings.

8.
The FCC has admitted that its comment system around net
neutrality plans was never hacked, despite claiming otherwise at
the time. Chairman Ajit Pai blamed the
previous administration for providing “inaccurate” information.

9.
Apple is reportedly planning to open retail stores in India next
year, in an effort to stop losing ground in the
country. According to Bloomberg, Apple is also
considering offering holiday-style discounts all year round.

10.
French ride-sharing unicorn BlaBlaCar has acquired Russian rival
BeepCar from its owner Mail.ru, according to
VentureBeat. BlaBlaCar will continue operating
BeepCar, and will pay Mail.ru to promote its services.

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